NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: A Train to Catch
The man on glasses outside the restaurant indeed was part of Bai Shun’s gang and was stationed to follow Yu Lu the moment she left the restaurant. However, when he saw Zhi Luan and her walking together, he immediately alerted Bai Shun. As expected, Bai Shun’s attention was piqued and a new plan was put in motion.
The car pulled up beside him and he entered,
“Hauke, you mustn’t lose them. They’re headed toward the food stalls…”
“Shut up, four eyes… don’t tell me what to do.”
Hauke was Bai Shun’s right-hand man. He was aggressive and impatient as they came. Hauke stepped on the gas pedal; he too had sighted them. As they went, they got a call from Bai Shun.
“What’s going on? Are you onto them yet?” he asked.
“We have eyes on them, boss. But we don’t want to frighten them yet or they could make a run for it.”
“Screw that!”
Bai Shun sounded livid over the phone.
“Make sure you don’t lose them no matter what. I’m on my way.”
However, shortly after this call was made, what they feared the most became a reality.
“Where are they?” one of them asked when he noticed he couldn’t find Zhi Luan and Yu Lu.
“What do you mean ‘where are they’? I told you not to take your eyes off them for a second!”
Hauke said irritably.
“They were just at the shrimp stall a moment ago…”
“Get down and find them immediately!”
The gang member got down and entered the crowd, and soon enough, he found them when they were about to make a turn heading for the subway.
“I found them!”
The gang member contacted Hauke and they followed his description to their present location.
“They’re onto us. Quickly get inside!”
Based on how they moved and blended with the crowd, Hauke figured out that they were already aware that they were being followed.
Zhi Luan also noticed the car was hot on their trail and stepped up the tempo. Tailing by car was faster, but it had its disadvantages, being that they weren’t free to move around as Zhi Luan and Yu Lu could. Zhi Luan and Yu Lu followed a shortcut. It was an alley that led directly to the subway. The car on their tail failed to reach them on time and was blocked. Now, the subway wasn’t far and it wouldn’t be long before they get there if they maintained their present speed.
The car had to spend some time making a turn around the alley. One of the gang members got down from the car and pursued them. Since this was the last train for the night, the crowd here was worse than it was within the city. It was difficult for Zhi Luan and Yu Lu to navigate their way through, but thanks to Zhi Luan’s wits, they got on the train just less than a minute before the doors were closed.
The gang member was a step too late. He smacked his tongue as he watched the train take off. He quickly contacted Hauke,
“They got on the train… I couldn’t catch up on time.”
Hauke got the message and relayed it to his boss, Bai Shun.
“You’re sure they got on the train?”
“Yes sir.”
“It’s no big deal then. The plan wasn’t to catch them but to follow them. At least now we know where they’re headed, and we’ll be waiting there for them.
Hurry up!”
Yu Lu finally let out a sigh of relief. She had been taking the subway for a long time, but this had to be the scariest trip to the subway in her life. She glanced at Zhi Luan who was beside her. There was no contact between them but the feeling of reassurance and security remained.
“How long before we get off the train?”
“The last train has only one bus top and that is the Jishan district. It’s about twenty minutes to get there.”
Zhi Luan said nothing after.
“What’s on your mind?”
Yu Lu asked, sensing that Zhi Luan was contemplating something.
“It’s nothing too serious. This is my first train ride so everything is new to me.”
“Oh, are you afraid?”
“Not the slightest.”
Yu Lu thought Zhi Luan was trying to act tough and chuckled. They two then discussed other things the rest of the way. For a moment, Yu Lu felt at ease in her heart. She was shaken by Bai Shun’s obsession with her and the extent he would go to get to her. On her own, she never would have been extra careful the way Zhi Luan was. She was glad he came along.
Twenty minutes later, the train arrived at Jishan district. It was an area within the west side of the city. It was a moderately populated part of the city mostly occupied by residents. Compared to the noisy central part of the city, Jishan was a lot quieter.
Zhi Luan and Yu Lu safely got off the train, and as a habit of his, Zhi Luan was astonished at everything he saw. He couldn’t believe he was still within the city but at another part of it.
‘This mortal settlement is huge. I’ve never seen anything like it before.’
He thought.
Nonetheless, all the time he had been to different parts of the city, he had never seen a cultivator like him, even in a city this big. Besides being a mortal settlement, Zhi Luan often wondered why he hadn’t crossed paths with a cultivator. What made it a mortal settlement was the absence of cultivators, but there would occasionally be some lurking around. However, since he woke up in this era, Zhi Luan had never caught the slightest glimpse of a cultivator, even as big as this city was.
Granted Zhi Luan was stunned speechless, he remained vigilant. According to old man Shen, Bai Shun knew this city like the back of his hand. If the old man wasn’t wrong, then Bai Shun should also have connections in the part of the city as well. Hence, Zhi Luan had to be on the lookout.